1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an orthodontic appliance, and more particularly relates to an osmotic orthodontic appliance which generates a predetermined deformation by osmotic pressure to give the teeth constant orthodontic force.
2. The Prior Arts
With advances in medical technology, the problem of teeth alignment including crowding of teeth, spacing of teeth, cross bite, deep bite, open bite or scissors bite of teeth and etc., could be corrected by orthodontic treatment.
In addition to the basic chewing functions, dental and smile esthetics have been influencing self-image and self-confidence in people's quality of life as well. Everyone wants to have a charming smile whether in social or work situation, which usually brings us improvement on self-confidence and self-esteem. With the improvement of people's social well-being, more attention has been paid to the orthodontic enhancement.
The orthodontic appliance employed in orthodontic treatment facilitates the adjustment of teeth to their proper position. Conventional orthodontic appliance comprises a plurality of brackets with each fixed to corresponding tooth separately, and a metal wire connecting all the brackets. The tightness of the metal wire is adjusted time by time for aligning the teeth. However, the distress problem would be raised since the metal wire gives the highest stress right after every adjustment, while the user usually feel uncomfortable at this time, then the stress decreases since the teeth move until the next adjustment. Therefore, the user must experience many times of distress and chewing difficulty caused by the high stresses during orthodontic treatment, and such that the user loses his/her weight or feel uncomfortable in daily life (e.g. while sleeping).
In the design of orthodontic appliance, utilizing high elasticity material makes the user feels more comfortable, but aligning effect is not so well; in contrast, utilizing low elasticity material brings great aligning effect but makes the user feels uncomfortable and reduces the willingness to wear the appliance. Thus, how to balance the aligning effect and user's comfort is a great concern in current orthodontic therapy.